You're learning with 9to5 English, business English for the workplace.
Hi, Tim here with our first 9to5 English lesson.
Appropriately enough, we're kicking off with a lesson on how to say hello to colleagues and customers in English.
But before we get to the lesson, let me take a second to tell you what 925 English is all about and how you can use it.
925 English lessons give you chunks of language and English expressions that you can use in work and business.
We get straight to the point with lots of examples.
We give you phrases you can say in different situations and advice on why and how we use them.
Sound good?
All right, let's get going.
So, it's pretty easy to greet someone in English, isn't it?
We can say, good morning. or hello, or just hi.
And we might add something like, my name is Tim Smith, or a question like, how's it going?
But what's the difference?
How do we choose which greeting to use?
Well, in business, like in life, it depends on the situation.
That includes who we're talking to and where we're having the conversation.
So let's go through three situations and practice some appropriate ways of saying hello.
The first situation I want to practice is greeting someone you have never met before.
Maybe you're at a conference, or on a flight, or walking into a meeting with a new customer.
We need to be friendly but professional, right?
So how do we do that?
Well, we need to start with something like, hello, hi, or good morning.
That's the actual hello part of the greeting.
But then we need to add something more.
You can either introduce yourself, including your name and maybe your job or company.
Or you could get the conversation started with a question.
And because it's someone you just met, we avoid informal expressions.
That means saying something like, How are you? instead of, How's it going?
All right, let's give this a try and practice some examples.
Listen carefully to each example, then repeat the greeting yourself.
Ready?
Let's get started.
Hello there.
I'm Paul Fulton.
Good morning, my name's Shelly.
Hi, I'm Dave Hall from Delta Enterprises.
Good afternoon, Liz Howard.
How are you today?
How do you do?
Frank Little, VP Regional Sales.
Great.
Did you hear how we start with a greeting?
Then we give our name or ask a question and sometimes we say who we work for or our job title.
So, that's how we say hello to someone.
Now, how can we respond to someone we've just met when they've said hello to us?
Well, you can begin by saying hello or something similar.
Or, instead of hello, you might say something like, Nice to meet you.
And it's always a good idea to use the other person's name in your response.
Like, Nice to meet you, Dave.
After your initial greeting, then you need to introduce yourself with my name.
Is, or just I'm meaning I am.
Let's practice this kind of greeting.
We'll play an example, then you can repeat the greeting yourself.
Ready?
Let's get started.
Nice to meet you, Tony.
I'm Carolyn Summers.
Hi, Peg.
My name is Kurt Lang.
Good meeting you, Paul.
I'm Jean DuPont.
Pleasure to meet you, Frank.
My name's Laura Chang.
Nice work.
But how do these introductions sound in real life?
Well, let's listen to a short dialogue to find out.
You'll hear Amber and Shelly, two women at a company party.
They've never met before and they want to start a conversation.
So they start with a greeting and a response to that greeting.
Let's have a listen.
Hi there.
I don't think we've met before.
I'm Amber, from marketing.
Oh, hi.
Nice to meet you, Amber.
Shelley Davis, sales.
A pleasure, Shelley.
Quite the setup here, isn't it?
So, did you hear how that worked?
The first person started by saying hi.
Then she introduced herself, and the second person followed the same pattern.
It's friendly and professional.
And once they've done this, they can start a conversation.
Now it's your turn to practice.
We'll repeat the dialogue, but this time we're going to beep out the response and you can play the role of Shelly.
You'll need to say, hi, nice to meet you, and your name.
If you want, you can add what department you work in.
Here we go.
Hi there.
I don't think we've met before.
I'm Amber from Marketing.
A pleasure, Shelley.
Quite the set-up here, isn't it?
Great work!
Now what if you already know the person?
For example, if you want to greet a work colleague or a friend.
Well, this time we can be a bit more informal.
That means, instead of hello or good morning, we might use hi or hey.
And because we're talking to someone we know, we don't need to say our name.
Instead, we ask a friendly little question that means something like, how are you?
Let's give it a try.
We'll provide some examples.
Listen carefully and repeat for yourself.
Ready?
Let's begin.
Hey there, Bob.
How's it going?
Good to see you, June.
Morning, Lana.
What's up?
Oh, hi, Chuck.
What's new?
Okay, just a note here on answering questions.
If it's a how question, like how's it going, we can say good or not too bad.
But if someone uses what in a question, we need to say something like not much, or give them some actual information.
All right?
How about a little dialogue to show us how this more informal greeting sounds?
We'll hear Kobe and Liz, two co-workers, making small talk before a meeting.
Ready?
Oh, hey, Liz.
How's things?
Hi, Kobe.
Not too bad.
And you?
Hanging in there.
So, did you hear how that was more informal?
The speakers used hey and hi and short, simple expressions.
But what does hanging in there mean?
Well, it's the same as not too bad.
And that's a good way to answer the informal question, how's things?
Now it's your turn to practice.
We'll repeat the dialogue, but this time we're going to beep out the response and you can play the role of Liz.
You'll need to say, hi, answer the question, how's things, and ask Kobe a similar question.
Here we go.
Oh, hey Liz, how's things?
Hang it in there.
Great.
That was a packed little lesson, wasn't it?
We've practiced different ways to greet new people introduce yourself and respond to introductions.
We've also practiced greeting friends and colleagues.
We'll be back soon with another 925 English lesson.
Until then, so long and happy learning.
